The Italian government formed Trenitalia to comply with European regulations. The European Commission's First Railway Directive from 1991 (91/440/EC) prohibited that the same railway company manage the rail infrastructure and provide rail transportation. On 1 June 2000, therefore, Italy created Trenitalia as the primary rail transportation company and on 1 July 2001 established Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) as the company overseeing the rail network.[4] However, the separation was only formal, since both are subsidiaries of the Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane holding and are owned wholly by the government.[5] Trenitalia operated freight rail services under the Trenitalia Cargo brand until 2017, when Mercitalia took over state-owned freight rail and logistics operations.[6]

Regional trains travel within an Italian region or between neighboring Italian regions. Trains usually stop at all stations at most, thus connecting small centres to cities. Regionale veloce (fast regional train) are trains stopping at about half of station stations at most.

There are no reservations for regional trains, and for this reason, there is no price advantage to acquiring regional tickets in advance online. Once bought, tickets for regional trains have to be validated at the station before departure.

"Validation" in this case means placing a date/time stamp on the ticket by inserting into a (usually) green and white machine either in the station or along the track. This is because regional tickets are not for a particular date or time but are valid for a period (two months for tickets bought before 1 August 2016). The date/time stamp is to show that the ticket cannot be reused.

From 1 August 2016, tickets are valid for the 24 hours chosen by online buyers; the date of use can be changed until the previous 24 hours of the later date. The date of use can be anticipated until the 24 hours following this adjusting operation. The omission about the period of use at paper shops will involve a one-way daily ticket issue. This change aims to hinder fare evasion.

There are no discount schemes available for non-residents of Italy on regional trains.

High-speed rail (managed by RFI) service in Italy commenced in 2008 with about 1,000 km (620 mi) of new track on the Turin-Milan-Bologna-Rome-Naples-Salerno route that allow trains to reach speeds over 360 km/h (220 mph), although current maximum commercial speed is 300 km/h (190 mph). There are currently four generations of ElettroTreno in service on the network.

Trenitalia ordered 50 high speed trainsets in 2010.[8]
The new trains are the ETR 1000 series.[9]
They are 200 metres (660 ft) long, non-articulated trains, with distributed traction, and capable of up to 400 km/h (250 mph) operation, although current service plans are limited to 360 km/h (220 mph).
Mauro Moretti, at the time chief executive of FS group, said FS was considering long-distance international services to France, Germany, or even Spain and the United Kingdom.[8]
The trains entered service on the Italian high-speed network in 2015.[10]

Several types of international trains in Italy are usually marketed by separate units, who set ticket prices and service standards but do not operate the trains.

TILO: 50% owned by Trenord (formerly these shares were owned by Trenitalia), 50% owned by SBB CFF FFS The company runs the regional services between Italy and Switzerland. The staff all change at the border and are either FS Trenitalia or SBB CFF FFS.

However, in August 2017 Trenitalia withdrew from the South Eastern contest, citing a desire to concentrate its resources on its bid for the West Coast Partnership.[19][22] Likewise in April 2018, along with FirstGroup, it withdrew from the East Midlands contest citing the same reason.[23]

Tickets can be bought online, in the stations or from approximately 4,000 travel agencies including those outside Italy.[24] It is common for people to buy tickets from the official website after looking up schedules.

Since long distance trains, unlike the regional trains, usually require a reservation, it is advantageous to buy tickets in advance.
This also gives buyers access to a variety of discount schemes offered by Trenitalia. All "premium" long distance trains generally share the same discount schemes, even though their fares may differ.[25] Unlike mini fares, which existed before 2012 and required two days of notice, all tickets may be purchased at the last minute if they are still available. All large rail stations have manned ticket windows and self-service ticket machines for this purpose. Such machines, which either say "Trenitalia" or "Rete Regionale" ("regional network"), differ in the types of payment accepted.

The three fare classes that Trenitalia introduced in 2012 were "Base", "Economy" and "Super Economy". A Trenitalia press release described the new fares as "Supereconomy, Economy, and Base, with the first two offering different levels of discount with respect to the Base fare. The Base fare guarantees free and unlimited reservation changes up until train departure, while its price in second class and in the Standard level will be cut 5% on all the Frecciarossa and Frecciargento routes running on the High Speed Torino - Salerno line."

In early 2012, Trenitalia released a web advertisement to promote its change from two classes of train compartments into four classes. Passengers travelling by the fourth (i.e. lowest) class were not permitted to use the on-board cafeteria or enter the carriages reserved for the other three classes.[citation needed] This change alone reportedly caused controversy, but more followed with release of the accompanying web advertisement. The web advertisement showed only white people seated in the upper three classes; and a black family in the fourth, where they are segregated from other passengers on board the train according to the new system.[citation needed]

Italian online media observed this and branded the advertisement as "grotesque", and other complaints of racial discrimination followed in UK newspapers, social media and online. Trenitalia withdrew the web commercial, and quickly substituted it following the allegations of racism.[26][27] Since 13 January 2012 the cafeteria is accessible also for passengers of lower classes.[28]

1.
Rail transport
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Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, also known as tracks. It is also referred to as train transport. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles run on a flat surface. Tracks usually consist of rails, installed on ties and ballast, on which the rolling stock, usually fitted with metal wheels. Other variations are possible, such as slab track, where the rails are fastened to a concrete foundation resting on a prepared subsurface. Rolling stock in a transport system generally encounters lower frictional resistance than road vehicles, so passenger. The operation is carried out by a company, providing transport between train stations or freight customer facilities. Power is provided by locomotives which either draw electric power from a railway system or produce their own power. Most tracks are accompanied by a signalling system, Railways are a safe land transport system when compared to other forms of transport. The oldest, man-hauled railways date back to the 6th century BC, with Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Rail transport blossomed after the British development of the steam locomotive as a viable source of power in the 19th centuries. With steam engines, one could construct mainline railways, which were a key component of the Industrial Revolution, also, railways reduced the costs of shipping, and allowed for fewer lost goods, compared with water transport, which faced occasional sinking of ships. The change from canals to railways allowed for markets in which prices varied very little from city to city. In the 1880s, electrified trains were introduced, and also the first tramways, starting during the 1940s, the non-electrified railways in most countries had their steam locomotives replaced by diesel-electric locomotives, with the process being almost complete by 2000. During the 1960s, electrified high-speed railway systems were introduced in Japan, other forms of guided ground transport outside the traditional railway definitions, such as monorail or maglev, have been tried but have seen limited use. The history of the growth, decline and restoration to use of transport can be divided up into several discrete periods defined by the principal means of motive power used. The earliest evidence of a railway was a 6-kilometre Diolkos wagonway, trucks pushed by slaves ran in grooves in limestone, which provided the track element. The Diolkos operated for over 600 years, Railways began reappearing in Europe after the Dark Ages. The earliest known record of a railway in Europe from this period is a window in the Minster of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany

2.
Politics of Italy
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Politics of Italy is conducted through a constitutional republic with a multi-party system. The executive power is exercised collectively by the Council of Ministers, legislative power is vested in the two houses of parliament primarily, and secondarily on the Council of Ministers, which can introduce bills and holds the majority in the parliament. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches and it is headed by the High Council of the Judiciary. The president is the head of state, though his position is separate from all branches, the current President is Sergio Mattarella and the current Prime Minister of Italy is Paolo Gentiloni. Article 1 of the Italian Constitution states Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labour, sovereignty belongs to the people and is exercised by the people in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution. By stating that Italy is a republic, the article solemnly declares the results of the constitutional referendum which took place on 2 June 1946. The State is not a property of the ruling monarch. The people who are called to administer the republic are not owners, but servants, and the governed are not subjects. And the sovereignty, that is the power to make choices that involve the community, belongs to the people, in accordance with the concept of a democracy, from the Greek demos. This power, however, is not to be exercised arbitrarily, as the head of state, the President of the Republic represents the unity of the nation and has many of the duties previously given to the king of Italy. The President serves as a point of connection between the three branches, he is elected by the lawmakers, he appoints the executive, and is the president of the judiciary, the president is also commander-in-chief in the time of war. These delegates are elected by their respective Regional Councils so as to guarantee representation to minorities, the election needs a wide majority that is progressively reduced from two-thirds to one-half plus one of the votes after the third ballot. The only Presidents ever to be elected on the first ballot are Francesco Cossiga, mr. Ciampi was replaced by Giorgio Napolitano, who was elected on 10 May 2006. While it is not forbidden by law, no president had ever served two terms, until 20 April 2013, when president Giorgio Napolitano was re-elected. According to the Constitution, any citizen that is fifty on the day of the election, the President cannot hold office in any other branch of power, and the offices salary and privileges are established by law. The President also presides over the High Council of the Judiciary, usually, the President tries to stay out of the political debate, and to be an institutional guarantee for all those involved in the political process. The president can also reject openly anti-constitutional acts as the guardian of the Constitution of Italy, with article 48 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to vote, the people exercise their power through their elected representatives in the Parliament. The Italian legislative branch has rights to declare war with a majority vote, the Parliament has a bicameral system, and consists of the Chamber of deputies and the Senate, elected every five years

3.
European Union
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The European Union is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2, the EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished, a monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002, and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency. The EU operates through a system of supranational and intergovernmental decision-making. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community, the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. While no member state has left the EU or its antecedent organisations, the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union in 1993 and introduced European citizenship. The latest major amendment to the basis of the EU. The EU as a whole is the largest economy in the world, additionally,27 out of 28 EU countries have a very high Human Development Index, according to the United Nations Development Programme. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. The union maintains permanent diplomatic missions throughout the world and represents itself at the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7, because of its global influence, the European Union has been described as an emerging superpower. After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the nationalism which had devastated the continent. 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the supporters of the Community included Alcide De Gasperi, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak. These men and others are credited as the Founding fathers of the European Union. In 1957, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany signed the Treaty of Rome and they also signed another pact creating the European Atomic Energy Community for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958, the EEC and Euratom were created separately from the ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand, Euratom was to integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union among members. During the 1960s, tensions began to show, with France seeking to limit supranational power, Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission. In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland, Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum

4.
European Commission
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Commissioners swear an oath at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, pledging to respect the treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate. The Commission operates as a government, with 28 members of the Commission. There is one member per state, but members are bound by their oath of office to represent the general interest of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 28 is the Commission President proposed by the European Council, the current Commission is the Juncker Commission, which took office in late 2014. The procedural languages of the Commission are English, French and German, the Members of the Commission and their cabinets are based in the Berlaymont building in Brussels. The first Commission originated in 1951 as the nine-member High Authority under President Jean Monnet, the High Authority was the supranational administrative executive of the new European Coal and Steel Community. It took office first on 10 August 1952 in Luxembourg, in 1958 the Treaties of Rome had established two new communities alongside the ECSC, the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community. However their executives were called Commissions rather than High Authorities, the reason for the change in name was the new relationship between the executives and the Council. Some states such as France expressed reservations over the power of the High Authority, louis Armand led the first Commission of Euratom. Walter Hallstein led the first Commission of the EEC, holding the first formal meeting on 16 January 1958 at the Château of Val-Duchesse, Hallstein notably began the consolidation of European law and started to have a notable impact on national legislation. The three bodies, collectively named the European Executives, co-existed until 1 July 1967 when, under the Merger Treaty, the Rey Commission completed the Communitys customs union in 1968 and campaigned for a more powerful, elected, European Parliament. Despite Rey being the first President of the communities, Hallstein is seen as the first President of the modern Commission. The Malfatti and Mansholt Commissions followed with work on monetary co-operation, with that enlargement the Commissions membership increased to thirteen under the Ortoli Commission, which dealt with the enlarged community during economic and international instability at that time. Following the Jenkins Commission, Gaston Thorns Commission oversaw the Communitys enlargement to the south, the Commission headed by Jacques Delors was seen as giving the Community a sense of direction and dynamism. Delors and his team are considered as the founding fathers of the euro. The International Herald Tribune noted the work of Delors at the end of his term in 1992. He arrived when Europessimism was at its worst, although he was a little-known former French finance minister, he breathed life and hope into the EC and into the dispirited Brussels Commission. The successor to Delors was Jacques Santer, the entire Santer Commission was forced to resign in 1999 by the Parliament as result of a fraud and corruption scandal, with a central role played by Édith Cresson

5.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province

6.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks

7.
Germany
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Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire. After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD. The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed

8.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’

9.
High-speed rail in Italy
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High-speed rail in Italy consists of two lines connecting most of the countrys major cities. The first line connects Turin to Salerno via Milan, Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples, the runs from Turin to Venice via Milan. Trains are operated with a top speed of 300 km/h,25 million passengers traveled on the network in 2011. Passenger service is provided by Trenitalia and, since April 2012, by NTV-Italo, the first high-speed rail route in Italy, the Direttissima, opened in 1977, connecting Rome with Florence. The top speed on the line was 250 km/h, giving an end-to-end journey time of about 90 minutes with an speed of 200 km/h. This line used a 3 kV DC supply, high-speed service was introduced on the Rome-Milan line in 1988-89 with the ETR450 Pendolino train, with a top speed of 250 km/h and cutting travel times from about 5 hours to 4. The prototype train ETR X500 was the first Italian train to reach 300 km/h on the Direttissima on 25 May 1989, the Italian high-speed rail projects suffered relevant extra-costs and delay. Corruption and un-ethical behaviour played a key role, service on the high speed lines is provided by Trenitalia and privately owned NTV. It operates mainly on lines, AGV575, speeds up to 360 km/h, operated by NTV as Italo, ETR1000, operated by Trenitalia. Maximum speed of these trainsets is currently limited at 300 km/h while tracks are pending certification for 360 km/h operations, current limitations on the tracks set at 300 km/h the maximum operating speed of the trains. Along with the development of ETR1000 by AnsaldoBreda and Bombardier Transportation, secondary stock, ETR460, ETR485, tilting, speeds up to 250 km/h for other services, operated by Trenitalia. ETR470, tilting, speeds up to 250 km/h, operated by Trenitalia on services between Italy and Switzerland, new Pendolino ETR610 are being introduced to the Italy-Switzerland route. TGV trains also run on the Paris-Turin-Milan service, but do not use any high-speed line in Italy, the following high-speed rail lines are in use. The table shows minimum and maximum travel times, the Milan to Salerno is the major north-south corridor of the high-speed network. The Milan–Bologna segment opened on 13 December 2008 and its construction cost was about 6.9 billion euro. The 182 km line runs parallel to the Autostrada del Sole, there are eight connections with historic lines. At the Reggio Emilia interconnection a new designed by the Valencian architect Santiago Calatrava was opened in June 2013. Calatrava has also designed a bridge where the line crosses the A1 motorway

10.
High-speed rail
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High-speed rail is a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. The first such system began operations in Japan in 1964 and was known as the bullet train. High-speed trains normally operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates a large turning radius in its design, only in Europe does HSR cross international borders. China has 22,000 kilometres of HSR as of end December 2016, while high-speed rail is most often designed for passenger travel, some high-speed systems also offer freight service. Multiple definitions for high-speed rail are in use worldwide, the European Union Directive 96/48/EC, Annex 1 defines high-speed rail in terms of, Infrastructure, track built specially for high-speed travel or specially upgraded for high-speed travel. Minimum Speed Limit, Minimum speed of 250 km/h on lines built for high speed. This must apply to at least one section of the line, Rolling stock must be able to reach a speed of at least 200 km/h to be considered high speed. Operating conditions, Rolling stock must be designed alongside its infrastructure for complete compatibility, safety and quality of service, category II – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h. Category III – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h, the UIC prefers to use definitions because they consider that there is no single standard definition of high-speed rail, nor even standard usage of the terms. They make use of the European EC Directive 96/48, stating that high speed is a combination of all the elements which constitute the system, infrastructure, rolling stock and operating conditions. The International Union of Railways states that high-speed rail is a set of unique features, many conventionally hauled trains are able to reach 200 km/h in commercial service but are not considered to be high-speed trains. These include the French SNCF Intercités and German DB IC, National domestic standards may vary from the international ones. Railways were the first form of land transportation and had an effective monopoly on passenger traffic until the development of the motor car. Speed had always been an important factor for railroads and they tried to achieve higher speeds. The line used three-phase current at 10 kilovolts and 45 Hz, on 23 October 1903, the S&H-equipped railcar achieved a speed of 206.7 km/h and on 27 October the AEG-equipped railcar achieved 210.2 km/h. These trains demonstrated the feasibility of electric high-speed rail, however, after the breakthrough of electric railroads, it was clearly the infrastructure – especially the cost of it – which hampered the introduction of high-speed rail. Several disasters happened – derailments, head-on collisions on single-track lines, collisions with traffic at grade crossings. The physical laws were well-known, i. e. if the speed was doubled, the radius should be quadrupled

11.
Swiss Federal Railways
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Swiss Federal Railways is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usually referred to by the initials of its German, French and Italian names, either concatenated as SBB CFF FFS, the Romansh version of its name, Viafiers federalas svizras, is not officially used. The company is headquartered in Bern and it used to be a government institution, but since 1999 it has been a special stock corporation whose shares are held by the Swiss Confederation or the Swiss cantons. Swiss Federal Railways is divided into three divisions and two groups, Passenger traffic Freight traffic Infrastructure Real estate Core services The corporation is led in an entrepreneurial manner, a performance agreement between Swiss Federal Railways and the Swiss Confederation defines the requirements and is updated every four years. At the same time the rates per train and track-kilometre are defined. Subsidiary SBB GmbH is responsible for traffic in Germany. It operates the Wiesentalbahn and the Seehas services, further subsidiaries are Thurbo, RegionAlps, AlpTransit Gotthard AG, Cisalpino AG and TiLo. The Swiss Federal Railways hold significant shares of the Zentralbahn and Lyria SAS, to maintain heritage, the Stiftung Historisches Erbe der SBB was founded in 2002. This foundation takes care of the rolling stock and runs a technical library in Bern, document and photographic archives. The metre gauge Brünigbahn was SBBs only non-standard gauge line, until it was out-sourced and merged with the Luzern-Stans-Engelberg-Bahn to form the Zentralbahn, SBB is often known as the worlds most on time type of transportation In the 19th century, all Swiss railways were owned by private ventures. The economic and political interests of companies led to lines being built in parallel. On 20 February 1898 the Swiss people agreed in a referendum to the creation of a railway company. In the meantime, the trains were run by the Swiss Confederation on behalf of the private companies, on 1 January 1999 the Swiss Federal Railway has been excluded from the Federal Administration and became a fully state-owned limited company regulated by public law. First class compartments were discontinued on 3 June 1956, and second and third class accommodation was reclassified as first and second class, in 1982 SBB introduced the Taktfahrplan, with trains for certain destinations leaving every 60 minutes, greatly simplifying the timetable. On December 12,2004 the first phase of Bahn2000, a programme to improve the companys services, was put into effect. The core element was the Zurich-Bern-Basel triangle, where travel times between the cities was reduced to one hour, resulting in good connections from these stations for most trains. Some connections between cities got two trains in each direction per hour or more, and the S-Bahn services were intensified to four or more trains per hour, because of these changes 90% of the timetable was changed, 12% more trains were scheduled and travel times generally improved. It was the greatest timetable change since the introduction of the Taktfahrplan, on 22 June 2005 a short circuit on a long distance power transmission line in central Switzerland led to a chain reaction

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Transdev
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Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a French-based international private public transport operator with operations in 19 countries. The group was formed by the merger of Veolia Transport and Transdev on 3 April 2011, Veolia Environnement and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations had 50% shareholdings. It was initially planned for the company to be sold by a public offering, potentially accompanied by a rebranding. In early 2012 it was reported that Cube Infrastructure, a controlled by the French bank Natixis, was likely to acquire about half of Veolias stake in Transdev. The Caisse des Dépôts would take over the other half and this was not implemented, but instead, Caisse des Dépôts acquired 10% of the shares from Veolia in October 2012. Following the sale of Transdev subsidiary SNCM in late 2015, CDC, in 2013 CEO Jérôme Gallot confirmed Veolia Transdev would consolidate its operations down to 17 countries. Transdev owned 66% of SNCM, a French ferry company operating in the Mediterranean, however, as of 2014, Transdev was planning to sell its shares. SNCM was finally sold to a Corsican firm Rocca Group in late 2015 and was renamed Maritima Ferries in January 2016, thello operates trains between Italy and France, Transdev relinquishes its 33% holding in 2016. In July 2015, Transdev commenced operating 17 coach routes under the Isilines brand to coincide with the deregulation of the French coach market, Transdev Netherlands is made up of three operations, Connexxion, Veolia Transport Nederland and Witte Kruis. It was set up in December 2015 to group the three together under one brand, after bringing Connexxion and Veolia Transport Nederland under one management earlier in May that year. Each operation continues to exist separately with its branding unchanged and this arrangement was planned ever since the global rebranding of Veolia Transdev in 2013. Connexxion is owned by Transdev-BNG-Connexxion Holding BV, a consortium between Transdev, BNG Bank and Connexxion Holding N. V, the consortium used to own 66. 7% of shares until they bought the remaining 33. 3% of shares from the Dutch state in February 2013. Veolia Transport Nederland operates bus, train and ferry services around Netherlands since 1997, Witte Kruis is Transdevs mobile care organization in Netherlands. In Belgium, Veolia Transdevs operations were known as Veolia Transport Belgium, VTB was sold to a consortium consisting of Cube Infrastructure and Gimv in March 2014. Transdev North America, formerly Veolia Transportation until August/September 2014, is the North American business unit of Transdev and it operates a number of public transport services across the United States and Canada. Transdev North Americas operations can be split into four divisions, Transit, Rail, On-Demand, other North American operations inherited from the old Transdev were never part of Veolia Transportation and therefore are not part of Transdev North America. It was inherited from the old Transdev and hence is not part of Transdev North America operations, Transdev North America US operations include, Denver, Colorado, Regional Transportation District routes throughout the metro-wide District. The contract has been renewed for a term from 2014 with two options